John Boehner Reelected As Speaker Of The House For 113th Congress

John Boehner, despite murmurs about an uprising against him, has been reelected with Republican support to be the next Speaker of the House.

John Boehner was reelected as Speaker of the House for the 113th Congress. PHOTO: Reuters.

Even though the Democrats did not take my advice, and despite a few protest votes from Republicans, John Boehner has been reelected to be the next Speaker of the House for the 113th Congress. Though Tea Party Republicans complained openly about Boehner agreeing to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, and his general willingness to negotiate with President Obama and the Democratic Senate, John Boehner was never truly in danger of losing his Speakership. He dodged a bullet some weeks ago when Tom Price's name was floated as a Republican replacement for Speaker of the House, and Price said quickly that he had no interest in challenging John Boehner for Speaker of the House.

The votes are still being tallied, but we can describe a general, expected trend in Speaker of the House voting: Democrats voted for Pelosi, Republicans voted for Boehner, and there were not enough defectors to do much to the overall voting for Speaker of the House. While both houses became more Democratic in the last election, the 113th Congress will have the same general make up as the 112th, with John Boehner returning as Speaker of the House, Harry Reid returning as Senate majority leader, and no one entirely sure what to do about the intransigent Tea Party who always keeps a tight grip on one of John Boehner's arms, but does not have the votes to depose him.